A man was shot and killed Saturday evening in Nazareth, as hundreds of Arab citizens in northern Israel took to the streets to protest the violent crime wave racking the community.

The victim, 37-year-old Jamal Mazawi, was found by medics with severe injuries. They took him to the hospital in the northern Arab city, but he soon succumbed to his wounds.

The man was killed as Arab protesters gathered in several towns in the north to decry the police response to surging gangland violence, saying law enforcement has not done enough to stop the bloodletting.

After news spread of Mazawi’s violent death, protesters gathered in Nazareth to condemn the killing, holding signs calling on police to get guns off the streets and “stop the war of crime.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of Sakhnin formed a human chain along the town’s main road, lit torches and held black flags, demanding law enforcement rein in the violence.

A similar protest in Kafr Yasif devolved into clashes after demonstrators moved to block Route 70, which runs through the village. Police arrested Shadi Shweiry — the town’s former mayor and prominent figure in the left-wing Hadash party — during the commotion.

سخنين: سلسلة بشرية وإضاءة مشاعل تنديدا باستفحال الجريمة وتواطؤ الشرطة

تصوير: مصطفى الزعبي (عرب 48)
تغطية خاصة: https://t.co/fZ1BORyytq pic.twitter.com/Y3w87u9Fyg

— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) January 24, 2026

Law enforcement said Shweiry was arrested after attacking police officers. Hadash party activists insisted the........

© The Times of Israel